The second Detective Inspector Chen novel (after 2005's Snake Agent
) traverses a wildly imaginative landscape based on Chinese mythology, with humans mingling with demons, Celestials and the deceased. When rich girl Deveth Sardai turns up dead, the case goes to demon Zhu Irzh, recently of Hell but posted to Earth to assist the police department of the city of Singapore Three. Meanwhile, Deveth's girlfriend, Robin Yuan, frees Mhara, a demon Robin's research company has been experimenting on for defense reasons. Robin and Zhu Irzh's paths cross as they follow the trail of the killer, leading them to uncover a larger plot involving a goddess in Heaven's bid for power. As the end of the world beckons, Mhara, who is far more than he seems, offers his help, but Heaven, Hell, Earth and everything in between falls into chaos. Williams weaves a rich, complicated tapestry that merges life with afterlife, otherworldly with worldly and human with inhuman. (Aug.)
